knowles



K T. R. KNOWLES MANUFACTURE OF ROLLED WHEELS AND DISKS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 26,1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l- 1,3Q6,262. PatentedJune 10,1919.

T. R. KNOWLES.

MANUFACTURE OF ROLL'ED WHEELS AND DlSKS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 26,1915.

Patented. J une 10,1919.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

T. R. KNOWLES.

MANUFACTURE OF ROLLED WHEELS AND DISKS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 26,1915. 1,306,262.

Patented June 10, 1919.

4 SHEETS SHEET 3- i l \V/l/ IwV/IIIIIIIII l lax P T. R. KNOWLES.

MANUFACTURE OF ROLLED WHEELS AND DJSKS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 25-1915.

Patented June 10, 1919.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

M; Mmms PETERS co PNOYG-L/TNO wAsmumou, u, v

THOMAS ROBERT KNOWLES, OF WEST BROMWICH, ENGLAND.

MANUFACTURE OF ROLLED WHEELS AN D DISKS.

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS ROBERT KNowLEs, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Beecholme, Hill Top,

West Bromwich, in the county of Stafford,

England, engineer, have invented new, and useful Improvements in the Manufacture of Rolled Wheels and Disks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and

exact description of the same.

This invention comprises improvements in the manufacture of rolled wheels and disks,

and refers more particularly to rolled car wheels, but may be used for forming blanks.

for gear wheels and for any other analogous purposes. In'apparatus for this purpose it,

is well known to employ rotary'dies to form the two side surfaces of the wheel, the rotary from the straight and the dies are arranged to overlap at the perimeter on the operative side of the axis so as to shape the wheel to the rim,'.or in some cases to the flange or tire, or instead ofsuch overlapping parts an adjustable rim rolleris used.

7 I find that the difficulties encountered in rolling bodies, such as Wheels, arise mainly through this large angle of divergence of the dies, which checks the flow of the metal in the operative surfaces of. the dies, which should be toward the rim but tends instead,

owing to the resistance due to the steep angle, to move the boss of the bloom from the main recesses of the. dies. This results in a badly. shaped boss, which has hardly been worked upon at all and in a rim which lacks solidity. The spindles of the dies are both inclined with respect to a straight line drawn through the center of the. bloom when between the I dies and are arranged so that their axes would meet on the straight line aforesaid at the said central point of the boss of the bloom when in position between the dies.

In accordance with this invention I arrange the rotary dies so that the axes of both the dies have a very slight diversion from the straight, the angle of their diversion being very small, between 1 and 5. Thus the operation of rollin is so gradual as to form or resemble a spinning or planishing action.

Specificationof Letters Patent.

1 Patented June 10, 1919.

Application filedJuly 26, 1915.. Serial No. 42,102.

Fig. li-is a" similar View showing the con-,

clusion of the rolling operation.

Fig. 5 is a transverse section on line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a section of a suitable bloom.

Fig. 7 is a similar view of the rolled car wheel.

On these drawings a 6 represent two dies mounted upon spindles 0 cl, which are inclined to a straight line mg drawn through the center of the bloom 6 between the dies. The axes of the spindles 0 d would meet on the straight .line aforesaid at the central point in the boss of the bloom when in position between the dies, which point is marked 7 at Figs. 2 and 4.

Both dies may be rotated and both may be withdrawn to permit the insertion of the bloom and advanced for the rolling operation. The means for effecting these movements of the dies shown on the drawings will be hereafter described as one suitable arrangement.

At the back of thedies a b where they approach each other more closely, see Fig. 4:, I arrange a rim roller 9 adapted to bring the desired pressure upon the metal of the bloom, as it expands under the rolling action, so as to compel it to fill the lateral spaces between the dies to form the rim of the disk or wheel.

A bloom h Fig. 6 is inserted between the dies a b which are bothadvanced to close upon it so that its boss is held in the accommodating recesses a b ofthe dies. The surfaces of the recesses a b are slightly conical so that in the inclined position of the dies the rear half of each forms a rolling surface for the boss from the center to its periphery, while the front half forms a clearance. The rolling operation upon the heated bloom is then commenced the dies being rotated and gradually advanced to shape the bloom between their surfaces and gradually expand themetal toward the rim roller 5/. The configuration of the dies'will of course depend upon the articleto'be produced; as

dueing a car wheel as i Fig. '7.' In

such anarticle, the rim is of greater thickness than the web or' disk portion'and to enable the spaces a b of the dies to be filled with the metal so as to give" the desired! solidity to the rim the rim roller 9 is arranged so as to exert a pressureup'on the metal to cause it to' expand laterally. By

' mentioned, mounted in suitable be'aringson adjustable carrier plates 6 l, which are adjustable abouta pivot bolt 7 upon-a main bed 7'. The spindles are rotated by a motor is director, by gearing from any suitable source of power. The means for rotating the dies forms no part of the invention. For movingthe dies axially topermit the bloom e to be inserted between them and to close thenronto it and gradually advance them for the rolling operation I preterm proyide the spindles wit-1E1 collars] workin behind shoulders m and prow' ilded with trunnions a connected by short links 0 to large b llcmfiks .79 mounted at g. The other ends of the bell cranks are connected to a hydraulic or other merger- U Asher'e shown the bolsters in which the spindles work together with the more remote bea rir'igs and tie driving means are movable bodily on the bed plate The use of a hydraulic or other cylinder and'r'ain' or phi-Inger for the operation of advancing and retarding the dies is particularly' suitable as by means of proper control a very gradual advancecan be obtained with a rapid return, which is desirable when the rolling operation is concluded, as continued rolling after the proper shaping is obtained i disadval'itageous,

For adjusting the back roller g, which is not driven but rotated by friction with the bloom, I' also prefer to employ a hydraulic or other cylinder t mounting the roller in a suitably guidedhead u on the plunger 21, see Figs 5. If desired I may arrange a guide roller above and below the roller 9 to assist in centering the bloom, see 9' Fig. 5. The roller 9 may be adjusted exactly to its work by mounting it on screwed rods 20 working through tapped worm wheels driven by a worm 1 on the hand wheel shaft 2-, see Figs. 2 nd 5.

Theladv'ance of the dies should be slight in relation to the revolutions so as to insure the desiredgradual rolling or spinning action. "WlfillOlll? in any way setting an arbitrary limit I believe the advance should not exceed'g' of an inch er die per revolutio11;-' It may be prefera 1e to ,,ar-'

range for driving the die advancing mechanism at two speeds so that in first roughlng down the blank the advance may be more rapid than -in use Iateret'ages of the opera tion. v As an approximate speed of rotation for'th'e" dies I'm-try arrange for 90 revolutions per minute during the roughing down operation and 180 revolutions .du ri lrgicthe later stages. I

If desired the rim roller may be plain instead of formed as shown and a separate tire may be secured onthe wheel but the fol-{m1 sh'own enables the flange who formed on; the wheel at one operation j o if desired, to givea dished; form to thedislft or web of the wheel at or-le rol-l-ir i-goperation pivotbolt f 'it will be understood is effected" beforerommencing work and theplates are then looked in the adjustedposition on the bed suchasbyboltsat f f What I elaimthen is: i i

The dies may be curved 5on their contoursl. Apparatus for, the manufactufe of H rolledwheels and thelilge comprising. in combination a pair of rolling. dies: disposed withtheir die faces towareachother, said rolling dies being mountedon rotary spindies, the axes oi; both said spindles diverge ing ata very slight angle only-from a straight line through the center ofthe bloom, said axes meeting said line at the central point in the mass of the bloom, bearings which said s indle's are mounted; adjustable carriers or said bearings 2 whereby both said spindles and said rolling dies may be adjusted as to the slight angle of divergence of their axes from said straight line through the center of the bloom, when the bloom is in place between the diesysaid earriersber ing adjustable between and 5 to suit the worlrto' be operated upon. j

2. In roll; apparatus forproducingnrolled wheels, disks and analogous articles by means a of rotating inclined surfaces, Y a pair of rotary dies; the axes of bothof saididies having a Very slightdivergence from a given straightline and meeting on the said straightl ne-a-t the centralpoint of the boss of the bloom, means for rotating saiddies, means ior advancing and'returning the said dies including power cylinders, andbell cranks intermediate cylinders" and said dies, arim roller, a power cylinder ,for actu atmg said riin roller and v lgeepin Qthe same in operation against the'bloom duringgthe rolling action of the dies, means for engaging said rim roller with the power cylinder so as to permit its exact adjustment to the work.

3. In roll apparatus for producing rolled wheels, disks and analogous articles by means of rotating inclined surfaces, a pair of ro tary dies, the axes of both of said dies having a very slight divergence from a given straight line and meeting on the said straight line at the central point of the boss of the bloom, means for rotating said dies, means for advancing and returning the said dies including power cylinders, and bell cranks intermediate said cylinders and said dies, a rim roller, a power cylinder for actuating said roller and keeping the same in operation against the bloom during the rolling action of the dies,'means for engaging said rim roller with the power cylinder so as to permit its exact adjustment to the work, said means comprising screwed rods working through tapped worm wheels driven by a worm on a hand operated shaft.

4. Apparatus for the manufacture of rolled wheels and the like comprising in combination a pair of rolling dies disposed with their diefaces toward each other, said rolling dies being mounted on rotary spin of their axes from said straight line through the center of the bloom, when the bloom is in place between the dies, said carriers being adjustable between 19 and 5 to suit the work to be operated upon, and means for advancing and returning said dies including hollow cylinders and bell cranks intermediate said cylinders and said dies, and a rim roller, a cylinder for actuating said roller and for keeping the same in operation against the bloom during the rolling action of the dies.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

THOMAS ROBERT KNOWLES.

Witnesses:

F. GILBERT BRETTELL, E. DAWSON HARDCASTLE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

